U.S. Plans Test of Missile Defense Radar Upgrades

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said Friday that it plans to test radar upgrades of the national missile defense system this month with a missile launch from Kodiak Island in Alaska, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 11).

This test would not involve a missile intercept effort. Three more mock enemy missiles will be fired from the Kodiak site last this year in tests that are expected to include interceptors from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, said agency spokesman Rick Lehner.

The first test is expected between Feb. 20 and 23. It is the first test of upgrades made to a Cold War-era early warning radar system.

“It will increase our knowledge on how this particular type of radar will track missiles,” Lehner said. “The goal is faster processing of information. We need missile information very quickly.”

The first interceptor test is expected in late spring or early summer, according to Lehner (Rachel D’Oro, Associated Press/Mercury News, Feb. 11).

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